Wolverhampton taxi fares rise first in four years
Taxi fares in Wolverhampton are to rise for the first time in four years, it has been announced.
The increases for Hackney carriages range from four to eight per cent, depending on the journey length.
Taxi bosses say it will help drivers offset the cost of rising fuel prices.
The new fares are expected to be formally approved by council licensing chiefs on Wednesday and will see 32p added to one-mile journeys.
A new system of calculating the fares has been devised which, city council bosses say, will make it more simple to understand for both passengers and taxi drivers.
A one-mile trip will go up from £3.68 to £4, two miles from £5.38 to £5.60 and 10 miles from £17.66 to £18.40.
The charges will now be £2.80 for the first quarter of a mile – where before it was £3 for the first six-tenths of a mile.
Parminder Mekhon, spokesman for the Wolverhampton Taxi Owners Association, said: "We were offered a rise last year but we refused because we felt it wasn't the right time due to the economic situation."